The Secret is in the Telling
by WolverineHowl
Summary: Merlin is trying to hide something from Arthur, but when Arthur gets too close to figuring it out, how will Merlin react. How will Arthur.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin although I really wish that I did.

A/N: Please Read and Review! I want to know if you want me to continue this story. WARNING: Slash m/M, if this is not your thing, DO NOT READ! Slight spoilers from season 2 and beyond.

Chapter 1: The Truth in the Lies

It was a normal day, another ordinary day. Merlin woke up to the sun streaming through his window. This should have made him jump into alertness but on this particular morning he was just too content and drowsy to even consider getting up. He had just had the most amazing dream, if only he could remember what it was about. Merlin slowly sat up and swung his legs off of his bed. He got up from his bed and lazily stretched his arms above his head.

Just as he was stretching he heard the door to his room bang open. Merlin quickly straightened out expecting to find Gaius standing just outside his door about to tell him to get a move on, only to find, someone else.

"Arthur!" Merlin quickly moved around his bed to get his blue shirt, which hung off of his dresser. After having successfully hidden his body, he turned back to Arthur and pierced him with his glare.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Arthur seemed to almost laugh internally to that before realizing what he was doing and responding, "Well Merlin, I think I should ask, why aren't _you_ in _my _room?"

Merlin quickly turned around to look out his window. Realizing that it was already past midday he slowly turned back around to look at Arthur sheepishly.

"Sorry Arthur, I didn't realize how late it was. Usually when I sleep in I have Gaius wake me. I guess he must have had some early errands to run."

Arthur seemed to have been placated by that, as he was no longer glaring at Merlin. This is when it got awkward though. Arthur finally seemed to notice Merlin's state of undress and unaccustomed to seeing him like that, couldn't help but stare. Merlin bent down to get his trousers and started putting them on over his undergarment. What he didn't notice was Arthur's gaze following his bum as he bent down and then straightened out again.

Arthur, quickly realizing that he had been staring, snapped out of it and hastily cleared his throat with a cough. Merlin turned around abruptly as though scared.

"Oh! Sire, I had almost forgotten that you were still here!"

Arthur cleared his throat again, for some strange reason it had gone unbelievably dry, and spoke up; "Just finish getting dressed and meet me in my room, I need to get my armor on for training."

Arthur made a hasty exit and shut the door leaving Merlin to stare at the door with a confused expression on his face. Merlin finished getting ready and went down into the main living area to find that Gaius had left him some porridge on the table but it had long gone cold. Merlin shrugged off his hunger and started his walk to Arthur's room.

As Merlin walked, he let his mind slip back into his dream as he fought to clear the haze over the images to find out why he had woken up feeling so refreshed. He walked at a slow pace as he pondered it. He could faintly remember telling Arthur something and then Arthur replying and them embracing. Merlin let out a small sigh as he wondered what would actually happen if he were to reveal his love for Arthur. He'd probably be fired as soon as he uttered the 'I' of I love you. He noticed Arthur's bedroom door up ahead; it was slightly ajar. Although that was extremely unusual, Merlin thought nothing of it. Arthur was waiting for Merlin to arrive after all.

As Merlin entered Arthur's room he looked around and noticed that there was no one inside. "Arthur!" Merlin began to panic and started pacing frantically from side to side, on one of his rounds of pacing the room he bumped straight into a solid wall of muscle causing him to fall to the ground flat on his back, hitting his head. He glanced up long enough to see Arthur's face filled with concern looking down at him before blacking out.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. If you recognize anyone or anything then I don't own it. It all belongs to BBC, regretfully.

Warning: Slash, M/M if you don't like then don't read.

Chapter 2: Why is Arthur acting so weird?

Arthur came back into his room only to find Merlin pacing from one side to the other. Arthur let himself smirk at the sight that Merlin made, all worried and concerned about Arthur. Arthur stepped forward to try and let Merlin know that he was fine, and yet still Merlin didn't notice him. Merlin was still pacing with his head bent towards the ground. Merlin was now headed back towards Arthur but he didn't seem to be slowing down. He kept walking right into Arthur's chest.

It seemed like time had slowed down for Arthur and yet as he reached out to stop Merlin from falling he felt Merlin pass him by. He could not stop his fall. As he landed on the floor, Arthur could see Merlin's head bounce off of the stone floor. Arthur couldn't move, he could only watch as Merlin let out a gasp of pain before looking up at him.

Arthur let himself relax slightly. If Merlin could look at him like that, then he was all right. Arthur saw Merlin's eyes begin to droop closed and in that moment, Arthur knew that Merlin was most definitely not alright. Arthur felt the tension jolt him into awareness as he was finally able to move into action. He bent down and tried to wake Merlin. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him to no avail. Merlin was still unconscious.

Arthur heard someone knock on his door but he was too preoccupied to answer. When he heard the door open and someone gasp behind him though he turned and glared at whomever it was that was standing behind him. Morgana stood behind him with a hand raised to her mouth and seeing the utter concern expressed on Morgana's face, Arthur couldn't help but feel anger. Who was she to react like this, she didn't know Merlin like he did. Arthur saw red and couldn't help but let it all out on Morgana.

"What do you think you are doing? Don't just stand there! Do something! Go get Gaius!" Morgana looked perturbed by Arthur's shouting but she obeyed anyway.

Arthur turned back to Merlin and was able to let a tear escape his eye. Merlin didn't deserve to die, especially not like this. If only he had reached out to stop his fall. This was all his fault. He removed Merlin's neckerchief so that he could check to see if Merlin was breathing. When he realized that he was breathing, although shallowly he allowed himself to back off for a moment. Thankfully Gaius arrived just at that moment and made Arthur back away. Although he had just been told to leave, Arthur just moved closer and grasped Merlin's hand.

"What happened! How did this happen?" Arthur turned away from Merlin to stare into the entirely too knowing eyes of his court physician.

"He walked straight into me! He didn't see me and he fell back and his head hit the floor!" Arthur had begun to talk at an extremely fast pace, but Gaius, used to his patients being nervous and worried was able to get the main idea of what had happened.

Gaius made to move Merlin, but Arthur stopped him and scooped Merlin right up off of the ground. He carried him over to his bed and lay him down gently, careful not to aggravate any wounds that he may have. Gaius watched this interaction from the sidelines careful not to interrupt. Arthur unknowingly grasped Merlin's hand as soon as he was done placing him on the bed. Gaius approached when he noticed that Arthur was looking at him impatiently.

Gaius set to work examining Merlin. He ran his hands all over Merlin's head and when he saw Merlin's face scrunch up in pain when he touched the back of his head he knew he had found the problem. He asked Arthur to help him turn Merlin onto his side so that he could have a better view of the back of his head.

There was a lump forming but fortunately, there was no blood. Although it was most probably going to cause Merlin a lot of pain in the following days, it was nothing that couldn't be cured with some good time resting. As he turned to tell Arthur this, he stopped mid turn and was barely able to hold in a gasp because Arthur was crying.

"Are you alright sire?" Arthur didn't even react to Gaius. He barely even acknowledged his presence. Gaius knew he wasn't going to listen to him, so he began packing up his things. Arthur turned to him quickly, his eyes burning through him.

"Aren't you going to do anything!" Gaius looked surprised at the prince's outburst but cautiously stepped forward. He placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder, as Arthur was already looking at Merlin once again. "Arthur, he is going to be fine. He just needs to rest and then he'll be fine. Come get me as soon as he wakes. I have some draughts that I'd like him to take that will diminish the pain that he will feel, but for now, all we can do is wait.

Arthur nodded imperceptibly and Gaius took that as his cue to leave. As he was exiting out the door, he turned to find that Arthur had his face pressed into the mattress as his shoulders shook violently.

He closed the door behind him as he wondered, not for the first time that day, not even in the last twenty minutes. What was wrong with Arthur Pendragon?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine! So don't ask to borrow him!

A/N: Anyways, on with the story. Please read and review, I want to know which direction to take this story.

Chapter 3: The Problem about Gwaine

Gwaine was a ladies man, or at least that was what others thought of him. He wasn't really like that deep down. He respected women too much to ever take advantage of them like that, besides he much preferred the male form. Another problem seemed to be that he was in love with his 'very male' best friend. Gwaine sighed and allowed himself to think about Percy.

Percy was such a good man. He was honest and caring, and would always be there to comfort Gwaine when he woke up from another nightmare. His recurring dreams had been a problem for far too long. They had begun showing him his death, but as he fell more and more in love with Percy he often found that his dreams didn't show him his death anymore, but Percy's. Whenever he woke up Percy would be there waiting to comfort him and embrace him until he'd calm down. That was another thing he loved about him. He never spoke about what happened, never revealed Gwaine's greatest secret.

Gwaine slowly got up from his bed after a fairly decent night sleep and carefully got about putting his armor on. It was a training day and seeing Percy fighting always made his day. He left his room with a broad grin spread over his face.

Percy knew he should tell Gaius about Gwaine's nightmares, but he couldn't betray Gwaine's confidence like that. No matter how much it pained him to see Gwaine in so much obvious distress. Gwaine had rapidly become his best friend here at Camelot and he would never do anything to endanger that friendship, not even the one thing that he most longed to do.

Gwaine was beautiful, but he liked women, he had no romantic interest in Percy and he never would. Percy let himself out of Gwaine's room after he was completely sure Gwaine wouldn't see him. He walked back to his room slowly to ease his back muscles. Sleeping in Gwaine's bedside chair every night was really getting to him, and it was starting to show in training.

He carefully changed into his armor for training. He chose to wear the one without shirtsleeves, it was his favorite, but only because when he battled Gwaine he could get more skin-to-skin contact. He let out a loud audible sigh and mentally prepared himself to suffer through another day of unrequited love. As he neared the battlefield he could hear Gwaine's loud and boisterous laugh.

Gwaine was talking to one of the kitchen maids, again. She was hanging all over him and touching every uncovered part of his body, which was mostly his face and arms. There was something off today though. Percy couldn't quite put his finger on it but it almost seemed like Gwaine wasn't too inclined to actually have the woman hanging off of him. Had Gwaine finally had a change of heart, was he no longer a ladies man? Percy let himself hope before realizing that Arthur was nowhere to be found.

Gwaine looked around and spotted Percy hovering on the edge of the field. He had to control the grin that was about to spread on his face remembering that if he were to smile it would only encourage Tara in her flirting. Looking around towards Percy once more he noticed him looking puzzled and as Gwaine looked around himself, he realized that there was something missing.

Arthur wasn't strutting around with Merlin hovering behind him like a puppy. There was no shouting that they were all worthless and that they should get to work. There was something terribly wrong going on here.

Gwaine turned to Percy once more only to be stunned to find Percy staring right back at him. He was about to call out to him when he noticed the pain in Percy's eyes; it was almost as if Gwaine had done something to him and now Percy found it unbearable to look at him. Before Gwaine could dwell on it any longer he saw Percy almost imperceptibly shake his head back and forth almost as if to clear away his pain. Percy motioned for Gwaine to come nearer and Gwaine, never one to let a good mystery go unsolved, let his curiosity get the better of him.

Gwaine turned back to Tara and excused himself as politely as he could, kissed her hand as a goodbye and started walking over to Percy. When Gwaine caught up to Percy, who had begun heading in the direction of the castle. He tried to look Percy in the eye to try and see if could catch another glimpse of the pain he had seen earlier, but it was as if Percy could sense his intentions and was purposefully avoiding eye contact. Gwaine let it go for the moment; they had more pressing concerns to be worrying about.

Gwaine let Percy lead the way as they made their way up to Merlin's chambers. If Arthur was missing from duty then it was most probable that he was pestering Merlin for not waking him up on time. When they knocked on the door they received a soft "come in" which came in a voice very similar to that of Gaius, except neither of them had ever heard him sound so sad. Gwaine stared at Percy before they both took a deep breath and entered the chambers. Gaius was sitting at the table with a bowl of porridge in front of him, it appeared to have not been touched. Considering it was now the early afternoon, either Gaius was really not hungry, or Merlin had forgotten to eat his breakfast once more.

"Come in and sit down why don't you?" Although this was said with Gaius' typical bite of sarcasm, there was just something off about his tone. Both Gwaine and Percy sat down wearily.

"What is going on? Where are Merlin and Arthur? They weren't out on the field for training." Percy looked about ready to explode from how quickly he had talked. Gwaine turned to balk at Percy, he had never heard the big man talk so much or so quickly. Gwaine couldn't help but notice how adorable Percy looked when his eyebrows were furrowed together. He snapped himself back to attention only to realize that Gaius had already started responding and he had obviously missed something.

"Yes, and Arthur is sitting in bed with him now." Gwaine tried to restrain himself from letting out the indignant guffaw he felt rising in his throat, somehow knowing that this was no laughing matter.

"What is going to happen to Merlin?" Gwaine looked worried at that, obviously something had happened to Merlin this morning. No wonder Gaius looked so tired and stressed out.

Gwaine let himself join the conversation for the first time since arriving. "Is he going to be okay? Can we go and see him?" Each question was said deliberately so that Gaius could hear his obvious distress at the news that Merlin was hurt.

Gaius let himself gently smile at Gwaine in thanks before he seemed to remember the situation at hand and sobering up. "He is going to be fine. He is going to have to rest for at least a week, maybe more. Although I don't think it would be best if you went up to visit him. I got this strange feeling earlier when Arthur sat down next to Merlin. I wouldn't be surprised if he killed whoever were to disturb him, but especially disturb Merlin. He was oddly protective of him. It was almost feral the way he looked at me. I definitely don't recommend going up to visit Merlin. I am going to be taking up some salves to apply to his head wound tomorrow morning if you both would like to accompany though, I'm pretty sure Arthur won't act against us if we prove we are there to help."

Gwaine just knew that there had been something Arthur had been keeping from them. Of course, it was obvious now, he was in love with Merlin. The oblivious dunderhead probably didn't even know it though. Gwaine let out a small chuckle ignoring the questioning looks that Percy sent his way. He stood up and excused himself, saying he had to get back to his post. He allowed himself a small grin aimed at Percy before swinging around to stride right out of the room.

What Gwaine didn't notice was the way that Percy had lit up when Gwaine had smiled at him, it was so rare for Gwaine to be so unguarded like that. It was almost as if Percy had been able to get a glimpse at the real Gwaine underneath all of the cockiness. The one that he held at night and dreamed of being loved by in return.

What Percy didn't notice was Gaius' knowing smirk as he watched the two boys' interaction as Gwaine left the room. He wondered how long it would take them to confess their feelings to one another. Probably a lot less than t would take for Merlin and Arthur to confess their own. Theses were going to be a couple of entertaining weeks for him. He just hoped he was there to witness Merlin fumble, he loved seeing him fumble. It only filled his heart with fondness for the boy he thought of almost like a son. Now, if only he could speed up their confessions, or out them. That would make everything so much more entertaining.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine! I would love to be able to own Merlin, and not just the show, if you know what I mean. Anyways, Merlin belongs to the BBC.

Warning: Slash. M/M, if you don't like this then don't read. It is very calm now but the rating will go up soon enough.

A/N: Please read and REVIEW! I don't even know if you all are even like what I am writing. PLEASE respond! Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 4: Merlin Wakes Up

It had been only a couple of hours since Gaius had left Arthur's chambers and there had been no sign that Merlin was ever going to wake up. If Arthur weren't a composed prince he would have probably already run out of the room in search of Gaius. Even if Gaius had said that it was just a matter of time.

Arthur gripped Merlin's hand and steadily raised it to his lips holding it with both of his own hands. "Just please wake up", Arthur placed a gentle kiss on Merlin's knuckle before placing Merlin's hand on his cheek and letting his head fall against the mattress. Arthur placed one of his hands on Merlin's cheek echoing the same thing that he had done with Merlin's hand on his own.

Arthur let himself calm, feeling Merlin's steady breaths against his face and felt his eyelids drooping closed. He let go of one of Merlin's hands to be able to lay his head on the bed. He had not let himself sleep since Merlin had fallen, but he was sure that if he could only sleep for a couple of minutes he would be able to stay awake for a couple more days waiting for Merlin to wake up. Slowly, Arthur fell into a state of unconsciousness.

Merlin felt the pounding in his head increase as he opened his eyes and had to shut them quickly. He tried opening his eyes once more, but this time he was sure to open them in increments. It hurt to move his head, so he settled for getting a hold over his body. He could feel a warm presence on his left. It was bordering on uncomfortable, but for now, it was nice. It seemed like that same warmth was encompassing his hand as well. Gaius must have stayed to see him out of his sleep and fallen asleep beside the bed again. Except, the ceiling did not belong to Merlin's room. In fact, Merlin couldn't even see the ceiling, there was a canopy blocking his view. Merlin's bed didn't have a canopy.

Merlin shot up dislodging the weight that had been settled beside him. His eyes roamed around the room and to his relief, he discovered that he was in Arthur's room. Unfortunately, moving so suddenly had made the pain in Merlin's head resurface. Merlin slumped back onto the bed with an audible groan. Almost instantly there were hands running over his torso worriedly. Unfortunately, Merlin was in too much pain to try and open his eyes again.

"Merlin, open your eyes", Merlin slowly and carefully shook his head no, not knowing who was talking because of the low thrum that had surrounded the voice. Whoever it was, they had a nice voice, calming. He heard a sigh and the warmth from previously enclosed his left hand. Only then did Merlin realize that it had probably been a hand that had been the comforting presence. This only led him to wonder who could care so much about him to stay by his bedside, for who knows how long. Now that he though about it, merlin started to wonder how much time he had been out.

Merlin knew that even though he was in Arthur's room there was no way that it was Arthur that was at his bedside. That would be ridiculous, why would Arthur want to stay indoors tending to Merlin when he could be outside training with his knights. But then why was he in Arthur's room instead of with Gaius in his own bed? As Merlin pondered this he felt another hand stroke his face, almost, lovingly. Which was when Merlin decided he couldn't wait to find out who it was that obviously cared so much for him. If it wasn't Arthur, then he would be disappointed but at least he'd know who to consider a greater friend.

Merlin opened his eyes carefully and was pleasantly shocked to find himself staring into the pools of deep blue that he'd been fantasizing about for almost a year. Arthur seemed to realize that Merlin had opened his eyes, but he still wasn't moving. If anything, he was coming closer. Was Arthur going to kiss him? As Arthur crept closer, Merlin could've sworn he heard a noise that sounded faintly like knocking, but with the throbbing in his head, he couldn't really tell. Arthur inched even closer to Merlin and softly pressed his, slightly chapped lips, to Merlin's.

Merlin had never felt anything so wonderful, if he had complete control over his body, he would've already wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders. He was going to have to settle to pressing his lips more firmly into Arthur's. Arthur ran his tongue over Merlin's bottom lip making Merlin let out a little gasp giving Arthur access to move his tongue into Merlin's mouth. Arthur adjusted his weight on the mattress as he settled himself more comfortably above Merlin, all the while never stopping his exploration of Merlin's mouth with his tongue.

"Wow, that is hot!" Arthur shot off of Merlin with almost supernatural speed, leaving Merlin feeling the loss of warmth from Arthur's body. Merlin slowly turned towards the voice that had interrupted the most passionate kiss he'd ever had, ready to brutally kill whomever it had been.

Gwaine stood by the open door, Percy a step behind him looking down at Gwaine with a look of shock on his face. Obviously Percy didn't know that Gwaine swung both ways. Merlin let himself chuckle internally at Percy's face before looking at Arthur once more.

Arthur was fuming, his face and neck were red, and not with embarrassment either. It seemed as if he too was angry that they had been interrupted, at least that is what Merlin hoped Arthur was feeling.

"Get out!" Arthur lifted his arm and pointed towards the door.

Gwaine looked about ready to start screaming, but Percy put a hand on his shoulder and all the anger seemed to leave Gwaine. Percy looked over to Arthur and said in a very calming manner; "Gaius sent us with more medicine for Merlin, he said to inform you that we are to be in charge of this duty for the next couple of days as he is too busy to do so himself."

Arthur looked sort of surprised by that statement, but before he could say anything, Gwaine said, "We also wanted to come and see how Merlin was doing. He is obviously doing much better if he's good enough to be engaging in those sorts of activities." Gwaine let out a low whistle before walking towards Arthur, placing the potions in Arthur's hand and then messing with Merlin's hair. He turned around and left the room chuckling and pulling Percy with him.

Arthur glanced nervously back at Merlin before turning around and quickly exiting the room. Merlin was confused. What had just happened. Didn't Arthur like him, or was he just using him? All this thinking had brought on another migraine, so he grabbed the bottles that Arthur had left on the table next to the bed and swallowing it all. He then proceeded to slump back onto the pillows and fall into a deep, dream-filled sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine! Really! Even though I wish it was. (Sigh) Well, anyways, Merlin is property of BBC.

Warning: M/M Slash, if you don't like this, then how did you get to this chapter?! Rating will increase in future chapters. But not in this one.

A/N: I really am sorry for the delay with my last chapter. Hopefully it was good enough to make up for the lateness. So please, read and review, I'd love to get feedback from you guys.

Chapter 5: Porridge

Merlin had no idea what was going on. His head was still a jumbled mess, but after Arthur had left yesterday he hadn't come back at all. Not even to sleep, because of all the confusion, Merlin's head felt like it was increasing in size, every hour that Arthur didn't come back. It was just getting worse. Not just the pain in his head but also the pain in his chest. Had the kiss not meant anything to Arthur?

Merlin was giving up hope that he'd show up at all; for it was already close to dawn and Arthur still hadn't come back. Merlin let himself close his eyes, even though he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep with the pounding in his head. Merlin could feel his body relaxing into the mattress, of course it helped that the bed smelled so much like Arthur.

Merlin felt his breathing evening out, but still, the pain was a reminder that he wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight. Merlin heard the door open, so quiet he wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been so quiet in the room to begin with. Merlin tried not to show any sign of having noticed, in case it was an intruder coming to kill him, or in case it was Arthur.

Whoever it was crept closer and stopped beside the bed. Merlin heard the distinct sound of someone sitting in the chair at his bedside. That same person then reached out to stroke Merlin's face lovingly. There was no doubt left in Merlin's mind anymore, this was Arthur. Arthur continued to caress his face and Merlin tried to inconspicuously turn his face into the hand. At his move, the hand on his face stilled, but after Merlin let out a sigh of happiness, Arthur picked up his ministrations.

Merlin opened one eye slightly to try and see the expression on Arthur's face. Arthur was staring at Merlin and he looked to be the most peaceful Merlin had ever seen him. Merlin smiled up at Arthur letting his eyes open completely. Arthur didn't seem to notice at first, but after he did, the movement of his hand stopped altogether. Before Arthur could remove his hand from Merlin's face, Merlin reached up to cup Arthur's hand to keep it in place.

Arthur smiled fondly at Merlin, but the worry in his eyes was plain to see. Merlin knew he had to prove to Arthur that he liked him as well, maybe even more than like, more like loved. Merlin leaned forwards and let his eyes drift closed, hoping that Arthur would get the message. Arthur leaned forwards as well and softly pressed his lips to Merlin's. They both pulled away without having tried to deepen the kiss, but something about this kiss had felt infinitely different. It was almost like Merlin had seen sparks behind his eyes.

Merlin opened his eyes slowly and glanced up at Arthur. Arthur still had his eyes closed, but after licking his lips slowly he opened his eyes. When he saw that Merlin had been staring at him, he blushed before ducking his head and resting it on the bed. Merlin chuckled before letting his hand come to rest on the back of Arthur's blonde head.

Arthur looked up and smiled at Merlin before leaning in and kissing him again, fast and sloppy. Arthur backed up again and leaned back on the chair. Arthur ran his hand down Merlin's face before chuckling as well.

"You should go to sleep Merlin". Merlin looked petulant but knew that Arthur was right, and as it seemed that his headache had gone down significantly from earlier he decided it was a good idea.

"I will, just, please don't leave me again." Merlin didn't seem to realize the intensity of those words, or the effect that they'd had on Arthur because he was already fast asleep, but Arthur couldn't help the shock that had shown on his face.

Arthur smiled down at Merlin's sleeping form, before leaning down and kissing Merlin's forehead. "Don't worry Merlin, I will never leave your side again."

(Where Arthur went after kissing Merlin)

Arthur rushed out of his chambers as quickly as he could not daring to look back and see the look of disgust that would obviously be on Merlin's face. Arthur was so busy trying to get away that he didn't hear Gwen and Morgana calling to him. Which led to him bumping into them and making Gwen drop the basket of laundry that she was carrying. The sound of the basket falling was what made Arthur snap out of his reverie, and when he noticed what he had just caused he instantly dropped to his knees to help Gwen pick everything up off of the floor.

Gwen was looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face, not knowing what had gotten into Arthur, she had called out to him after all. Hadn't that been enough for him to notice her and Morgana. Morgana was still standing haughtily off to one side, and if anything she looked predatory, like she knew why Arthur was acting the way he was.

Arthur finished placing everything into the basket and smiled politely at Gwen, and then at Morgana before straightening out and continuing on his original path from before he had crashed into Gwen.

Gwen, confused, called out, "Thanks Arthur!" Arthur didn't hear that either. Gwen turned to look at Morgana and knew from her patented evil smirk that she had a plan stirring.

Arthur continued walking as fast as he could down to the training grounds to try and beat out his frustration. How could he have let his emotions get the better of him? That had never happened before. Arthur noticed that Gwaine and Percy were already training, with each other, as per usual. Their usual bantering was even more intense than normal, and Arthur wondered if they had finally admitted their feelings to each other.

If only it were so easy for him. To just be with whomever he wanted with no repercussions with the neighboring kingdoms. Arthur had to marry a princess to unite two kingdoms, no matter what he felt, especially for a servant.

Arthur could already feel the tight hold on his chest tightening so he strode forward, grabbed his sword and started hacking away at the practice dummy. He didn't trust himself not to kill one of his men if he were to spar with one of them. Percy and Gwaine paused in what they were doing to glance at the frustrated Arthur, before they turned to look at one another with knowing looks and continuing their own impromptu sparring session.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur spotted Morgana and Gwen, but since it was a regular occurrence for Morgana to come watch the knights train, he let it be, not noticing the beckoning hand motions from Morgana directed at Gwaine and Percy. He also didn't notice that both Gwaine and Percy left their weapons on the rack and left after the two women.

Arthur had spent the night in his father's chambers, his father wasn't in the kingdom, so he had taken the chance to get comfort from his father's bed as he had when he was younger. Of course those days had been few, but whenever he had a particularly bad nightmare, he would go to his father's chambers, and his father never denied him entrance. The bed always smelled so deeply of his father, and it had been so long since Arthur had last slept here, that he had almost forgotten how peaceful it was to sleep surrounded by his father's scent.

Arthur rose from the bed when he heard a knock at the door. No one knew he was here, and his father wasn't in the kingdom, so who would be knocking on the door to the king's chambers? Arthur's question was answered when Morgana peeked through the slightly opened door.

"Hey Arthur. I've been looking all over for you. Did you sleep here?" Arthur refused to answer the last question, as that would just give Morgana more tools to use to blackmail him when she wanted him to go and buy her a new dress. Morgana seemed to shake her head reproaching for a moment before realizing that she had come looking for Arthur for a reason.

"You don't have to answer that Arthur. I just need you to help with something. I seem to have misplaced the candlestick that my father gave me. You know how much it means to me. Do you think you could come and help me look for it in my room?" Arthur sighed knowing that if he said no his father would be very disappointed in him when he found out, and he was sure to find out.

Arthur held out his arm indicating for Morgana to lead the way. Since Morgana was walking in front of Arthur, Arthur didn't notice that the gleeful smile that was plastered over Morgana's face. Morgana put on a more calm expression so that Arthur wouldn't suspect anything and opened the door to her chambers and gestured for Arthur to go in.

Arthur shrugged at Morgana's strange before stepping into the room. As soon as both he and Morgana were inside the room, Morgana shut the door loudly behind them. As the door closed, Gwaine, Percy and Gwen stepped out of the shadows. Arthur was puzzled for a minute before getting increasingly worried.

"Arthur, this is an intervention. Now why don't you take a seat." Morgana pointed to the chair set out in the middle of the room. Arthur, realizing he was outnumbered slowly trod towards the chair. Arthur settled himself in, if he was going to be stuck here for a while, he preferred to be comfortable for it.

"What is it Morgana? Why did you think you had to kidnap me to get what you wanted?" Arthur looked up at Morgana and saw that she looked sort of regretful.

"Well, you see, we all know how you feel about Merlin." Arthur stiffened at that blunt truth. Was it really so plain to see. Obviously Percy and Gwaine knew, they had after all seen him kissing Merlin, but how did they know that it wasn't just a kiss. How did they find out about his feelings?

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have any feelings for Merlin." All of the other four occupants in the room looked at each other and Morgana turned to look at Arthur again, even he had heard the lie in his voice.

"Fine, so I may love him. That doesn't mean that anything can happen. You know as well as anyone that I have to marry a princess. You know how Uther would react if he found out that I have no intentions of marrying a princess." Arthur let the desperation bleed into his voice and saw as Morgana's face registered shock before her usual smirk found its way back onto her face.

"That is where you are wrong dear Arthur. Uther already knows about your feelings for Merlin. In fact I think everyone in the castle already knows." Arthur looked panicked for a second before realizing that Morgana was cruel but she wouldn't be as cruel as to tell him that he had to let go Merlin in this manner. "You see, Uther has known about you and Merlin's feelings for each other for a long time." Arthur barely registered the rest of what Morgana had said, feelings for _each other_. That was impossible; Merlin didn't love him back. Did he?

"Uther is proud of you, and he will continue to be proud of you, no matter what. Uther and I have discussed this on various occasions, and he did tell me that if you yourself initiated a relationship with Merlin and then told him openly about it then he would be more than happy to let you do as you wanted. Uther's main concern is that you be happy and with the person that you love.

Arthur could feel his head spinning, his father was okay with all of this, he condoned it. How? He turned to look up at Morgana once more and at the smile that Morgana sent him he knew that she was telling the truth.

"What are you waiting for Arthur," came Gwaine's voice from behind him, "go get him."

Arthur practically ran from Morgana's chambers in his effort to get to his own, not noticing the pleased looks from the four people that he had left in the room.


End file.
